


Civilian Chat:  Tales of Chad Sombre.

by penguinnomad



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Miraculous Ladybug - Freeform, civilian cat au, ml au, takes place season 3 ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22672123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguinnomad/pseuds/penguinnomad
Summary: Adrien Agreste decides he wants to experience life completely free, no super hero powers and no fame as a model. Now disguised, he heads out to live a life free of expectations, but a certain designer figures out who he is, but not the him he was expecting.(Let me know what you guys think of the fic) (Re-uploaded because someone deleted it)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 17
Kudos: 169





	Civilian Chat:  Tales of Chad Sombre.

“I’ll be in my room working on my homework.” The blond teen called out before he closed the door to his room.

He waited a few moments until he was absolutely sure no one was going to bother him. A cheeky grin appeared on his face.

“Operation Civilian is a go.”

The black cat kwami floated out of his chest pocket and munched on some camembert as the excited Gabriel model rushed to his closet. The boy dug out clothes that he had ensured were hidden so that no one would ever find out about his plan.

He quickly took the clothes to his bed and swapped his normal attire for the new duds. After changing, he took a moment to look into the mirror and actually questioned his plan.

“Are you sure that this will actually work, Plagg? People have seen through a disguised me before.” The teen asked skeptically. “I know this was my idea and all, but I am starting to think maybe I was being too optimistic.” 

“If you’re talking about that whole helmet hijinks’ you and the baker girl were doing while you were running from those crazy fans of yours? That was hardly a disguise. This however? I am sure Nathalie wouldn’t even realize it’s you.” Plagg commented. “Trust me, Adrien, _no one_ in Paris will know it’s you.”

Adrien looked in the mirror to take in his new appearance. 

His typical smoothly brushed back hair was now much wilder, looked a lot similar to his hair when he was in his superhero persona. His normal white, button-down shirt was replaced with an old, yet well-kept, leather jacket that Adrien had found in a thrift store and bought on impulse. His usual black t-shirt was changed to a white one with a green paw print that he thought looked cool. His well-kept blue jeans were replaced with a pair of darker blue, torn-up jeans, and his orange sneakers were swapped out for leather boots. To top everything off, he got slick black sunglasses that covered his trademarked emerald green eyes. He made sure his new outfit was anything but Gabriel wear. It was a surprisingly hard task as it meant that he had to get out and get this entire outfit outside without anyone noticing, since all the clothes he owned, right down to his socks, were Gabriel.

Adrien pondered a moment.“I guess you make a good point. Even I wouldn’t think I was me in this outfit.” Adrien looked himself over.

“This is your big chance! You wanted the perfect way to actually live like a normal teenager–now you finally can! All you needed was a tiny bit of cat stealth and some different clothes.”

“That is if this actually _works_. I’m pretty sure if my father finds out I was caught in public, without some sort of supervision, AND not steeped head to toe in his brand, I might as well kiss any sort of freedom I have good bye.”

“Well, this is your choice. If you want to wait before we go with this idea, we can wait, I have cheese to finish.”

“No way, Plagg! I have been planning this since that whole Gorizilla bonanza. I _need_ to feel like an actual person and not just some accessory of my dad’s brand. I _want_ to be _free_.”

The cat Kwami smirked at him, knowing full well that he was encouraging this teenage rebellion. Gabriel could choke on his candy cane outfit for all the small deity cared. His chosen deserved some fun. 

“Alright then Adrien, let’s get you out of here.”

“Plagg, Claws out!”

Adrien transformed into his heroic alter ego, Chat Noir. 

The cat-themed hero moved to his bathroom window and slipped to the roof. He made sure to avoid the security cameras that his father had set up around the estate. He carefully looked around and used his staff to launch himself far away from the Agreste mansion.

He landed on the roof of a building and slid into an abandoned alleyway before he transformed back into his civilian form.

“Claws in.”

Adrien casually strolled out of the alleyway. He took a moment to appreciate everything around him. At this moment, he wasn’t Adrien Agreste, Son of Fashion Mogul and Face of Gabriel. He wasn’t Chat Noir, the dashing, black cat, themed hero of Paris. Right now, he was just a normal boy with a normal life, despite his secret that no one knows yet.

“Alright, let’s give this a test run.” 

* * *

“You have the address down?” The baker asked his daughter.

“Yes, Papa, I have been to Max’s house before. I will be sure to deliver the cake to them with no issues.” Marinette assured her papa with a smile.

Max and his mother ordered a cake to celebrate his mother passing her exam, allowing her to officially become an astronaut .

Mrs.Kante requested a cake that was space-themed, yet needed to be light-weight. So, Tom helped make a rocket ship cake that, while large, was light enough Marinette could carry without issue.

Marinette picked up the box, which went over her head and obscured her view directly in front of her.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help? It _is_ a _tall_ order.”

“It’s _fine_ , Papa” Marinette rolled her eyes at the pun. “You and Mama have a lot of orders to fill today. This order isn’t heavy and I will be sure to be careful. I promise you the cake will have a safe landing.” 

Marinette could swear that Cat and her Papa’s puns were getting to her.

“I just want to make sure you return safely.” Tom insisted. “I can always bake another cake, but I can’t bake another daughter like you.”

“Papa!” Marinette exclaimed, but she couldn't hide her smile at the loving comment of her papa.

The baker chuckled as he hugged his daughter before sending her off.

Marinette exited the bakery and carefully made it to the sidewalk.

The red kwami opened her bag.

“That _is_ a pretty big box. Are you sure you’ll be able to handle this? You can’t even see anything in front of you!” The ladybug kwami inquired as she looked around.

“No need to worry, Tikki, I’m going to be super careful. Besides, Max only lives a few blocks down from the bakery. All I need to do is watch my step and have you be my extra pair of eyes.” Marinette assured.

“Alright, I’ll be your eyes.” The kwami agreed.

Marinette began making her way slowly and carefully down the sidewalk. Nothing was going to stop her from making this delivery.

* * *

Adrien felt absolutely enthusiastic. The disguise was working perfectly! No one was staring or sneaking looks at him. No one was following him as he went about his business. No bodyguard to constantly watch him.

Whenever he snuck out before, he always had to be super careful about not being spotted by anyone, always looking over his shoulder in case some random fan recognized him. He needed to be alert or else someone would snap a photo and upload it online. Then, within a few minutes time, his bodyguard would come swooping in. He never understood how the large gorilla of a man was able to do that, but he decided he would likely not like the answer to that question.

Adrien didn’t feel the obligation to constantly hold his posture up and walk with a proper stride. He could finally relax. He could walk with his hands in his pockets and not have to worry about people saying he had bad posture. He didn’t need to be as polite with his words. A dramatic realization dawned on him causing him to stop immediately in his tracks.

“I can say curse words!” Adrien’s eyes went wide as the statement left his lips.

Plagg popped his head out of his chosen’s pocket.

“Oh yes you can! Let it rip!”

Adrien was absolutely gleeful.

“He’s a darn idiot and I think he’s really stupid!” Adrien exclaimed with glee. “Oh man! That felt so liberating!”

Plagg paused for a moment. He realized how innocent his chosen actually was. He wished he had taken more cheese. Fu knows he needs more to deal with this.

“Later, I’m going to teach you the actual bad words. Way to get my hopes up...” 

“I thought what I said was pretty bad...” Adrien muttered as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I have _never_ said _anything_ that harsh about my _father_ in my _life_!”

Plagg hugged his chosen.

“You are _far_ too innocent and sweet for this messed up world. I need to fix this, or you’ll be _eaten alive_ out here.”

Adrien continued his stroll after a quick lesson that he really needed to learn some vocabulary to match his newer and much freer lifestyle. As he was strolling along, he noticed a strong athletic teen in a red sweatshirt with a familiar golden quaff chilling on a bench, helping himself to a sandwich. Adrien knew that was none other than Kim. The blond decided it would be good to greet one of his friends.

“Come in ta ma belly!” The athletic teen exclaimed just before taking a bite.

“Hey Kim! What’s up?” The leather jacket wearing teen greeted with a smile.

The sudden greeting almost caused Kim to bite his tongue. Kim looked up to see someone he had no idea who they were. Did he beat them in a race? He never was one that was good with faces.

“Uh… hi? How do you know my name?”

Adrien paused for a moment. Did Kim not recognize him? Was this disguise really good enough to fool even his friends? If this was the case, then this plan worked out better than he could have dreamed of!

“Wait, you don’t recognize me?”

Kim put his sandwich down and stood up. He walked around the leather jacket-wearing teen. Eyeing him as he tried to figure out who he was. He spent a solid minute pondering and wondering who the guy was. For some reason, this guy knew him and he didn’t know how? Did he go to his school? Was he a fan? Was he an alien sent from the future to tell him that he is needed for his impeccable swimming ability and has to fight the zombie mutants to save the world from impending doom? He really hoped it was that last one.

“Nah, sorry dude. You aren’t ringing any bells, but hey, your jacket looks vintage.” Kim shrugged.

The blond looked surprised. He was about to reveal to Kim that it was him, his classmate, Adrien. Before he did, though, a thought occurred to him.

“Oh, sorry for disturbing your lunch. I must have been mistaken.” 

“No worries dude, happens to me all the time.” Kim assured as he sat back down. “But if you want to hang out or something sometime, I’d be down for it. You seem like someone that I can chill with.”

Kim looks at his sandwich, Adrien could swear he heard the swimmer’s stomach growl. He decided it was best to let his athletic classmate enjoy his food.

“Oh, thanks.” Adrien smiled. “Maybe another time. You probably want to get back to your food.”

“No prob, my dude. Take care.” Kim bid him farewell as he took his sandwich back into his hands. “Now, where were we?”

Adrien walked off to let the starved teen enjoy his meal.

“I still can’t believe he couldn’t see that it was me.”

“I told you that the disguise would do the trick. People in this city are blind.”

“Kim probably wasn’t really thinking about it. I’m sure if he had a full stomach, he would’ve recognized me” 

“I don’t think that boy does a lot of thinking. How about we make a bet?” 

  
  


“A bet? And what do you have in mind for this bet?” Adrien could tell this is a scheme by the stinky cat kwami to get even more cheese.

“I bet that the entire time you are out, no one will realize you’re Adrien.”

“And what exactly are the stakes?” Adrien asked his interest peaked but doing his best not to show it to the mischievous cat.

“If I’m right, and no one recognizes you, you have to buy me that extra stinky camembert I have been dying to try. You know the one, I circled it in a red marker.” The cheshire grin on Plagg’s face confirmed Adrien’s suspicions of his motives.

Adrien knew exactly what the miniature deity of destruction was asking for, the article talking about the cheese compared the smell to a rotting corpse.

“And if I win?”

“Then I will go without camembert for a whole week.”

“Two weeks.”

“Fine, but I set the conditions.”

Adrien considered the cat kwami’s bet. He would love a break from having to bathe himself in cologne to not smell like cheese for a while. “What are your conditions?”

“First, you can’t hint at who you are in anyway. From removing parts of your disguise purposefully or with wording.”

“That’s fair.”

“You can’t give your real name out unless the person guesses it.”

“Okay, anything else?”

“You have to act like you were acting before. Adrien with no pressure.”

Adrien pondered the conditions, and, he had to admit, it was a pretty fair bet.

“Okay, deal.” Adrien shook the little kwami’s hand.

“Now let’s see who else I can meet on the street.” Adrien wondered aloud when someone caught his attention–a familiar, black-haired designer that happened to be carrying a large box.

* * *

“Almost there..” Marinette exclaimed as she continued making her way to the Kante residence.

Marinette was being extra careful as to ensure the safety of the cake. Her father has become quite an expert at wrapping up cakes, as long as the cake didn’t get out of the box or flattened, it would probably be without damage, but Marinette had a ‘luck’ that seemed to supersede her father’s skill. She needed to ensure that her luck didn’t get the best of her.

Tikki popped her head from the box and noticed a rather sudden issue.

“Watch your step! The curb!!!”

Marinette reacted too slowly and ended up missing her step, causing her to trip forward. Thankfully, she managed to keep a firm grip on the box and kept herself from falling face first and eating asphalt.

“That was close!” Marinette sighed in relief.

This moment was unfortunately disturbed by the blaring sound of a car horn.

The baker’s daughter turned her head to see a car heading right towards her.

Marinette could feel the world slow around her. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. It was as if everything was to emphasize this, what could be her last moment before ending up six feet under.

Marinette tried to move her feet, but she knew that with no momentum, she was going to get hit by the car.

Marinette’s eyes closed and a sudden force moved her out of the street. Her grip loosened and the box she was holding went flying out of her hands, yet landed miraculously in a bush, undamaged.

Marinette opened her eyes to see a blurry image of a blond teen wearing leather in front of her.

“Marinette! Are you okay?” The teen questioned. His eyes were obscured by black shades, but his expression showed his medley of emotions.

“Chat Noir?”

He felt the color leave his face as the girl in front of him focused on getting her vision back into focus. He needed to play dumb.

“Nope, I don’t know who a chat noir is. Especially because I am _not_ him. Yup, definitely not the cat hero of Paris. Certainly not the partner of Ladybug.”

Marinette’s vision was back and she got a clear look at the incredibly nervous and panicked boy in front of her. _Leather jacket, wild messy hair, a green paw print on his shirt, leather boots. No way, it couldn’t be…_

“You are Chat Noir aren’t you?” Marinette pushed.

“What? What makes you say that? How can I be the awesome and spectacular Chat Noir? That makes no sense. No way.”

“You are wearing a leather jacket and boots resembling Chat Noir so much it’s practically deliberate, something that Chat Noir would clearly do.”

Chat Noir could swear he felt the verbal arrow pierce his head.

“Your hair style is identical to how it is when you are Chat Noir."

The civilian cat hero felt another verbal arrow shoot through him, this time through his gut.

“But the real take away was that you knew who I was without me recognizing you.” Marinette stated.

A third and final verbal arrow pierced through his heart, destroying any sort of defense he had.

“So, you are either a Chat Noir fanboy that is stalking me, or you’re the real Chat Noir.” Marinette finished. “I can clearly tell it isn’t the former.”

“What? No, I can’t be Chat Noir. That is totally not… I mean I don’t even… I … What even is a chat noir? A pet cat perhaps? I am not a cat. I am clearly a casual, everyday boy.”

The cat hero could feel his defense crumble as he lowered his head in shame.

Marinette couldn’t believe that today of all days, she would find out her partner’s secret identity.

“I give… I guess that means I have to give up being a hero. I’ll have to turn in my miraculous. I can’t risk people knowing I am Chat Noir.”

The depressed boy got up from the ground before offering her a hand up. Marinette took it instinctively as he helped her to her feet. Once they were both standing, he began to slowly walk away from Marinette.

Marinette felt a pang of guilt, her sudden deduction was able to help her find Chat Noir’s civilian identity. She knows how Fu is with the rules regarding their identities. If only she didn’t let her deductive reasoning pop out this time. She’s going to lose her partner! Marinette felt a shiver of panic from that line of thinking. She needed to fix this. Maybe this doesn’t count as her knowing his identity.

In truth, this isn’t as much of a reveal as it seems, it isn’t like she knows who he is. She doesn’t know his real name, his address, or much about his personal life. She just knows his general appearance. Which she can now confirm that Chat Noir wasn’t lying when he said he was good looking. She had to admit he was quite attractive, she would even say he could probably be a model if he wanted to. She quickly shook her head of that thought, focusing back on the sullen cat.

“Wait.”

Chat Noir raised his head, and turned around.

“Your identity is still safe, I don’t know your name or any personal information about you. It’s not like anyone could get any information on who you are by akumatizing me, You are still safe from being revealed.”

The cat hero’s expression shifted.

“Are you sure? Won’t Alya want to dig into me if she found out you saw me?”

“No one has to know. I promise I won’t tell anyone. Alya’s investigative powers won’t get a word about you from me. You did save my life, it’s the least I can do.”

His expression shifted to a cheshire grin. Marinette was simply the best!

“Oh, thank you Marinette! You are truly too kind!” The cat cooed as he hugged her. 

Marinette felt a faint blush from the sudden hug.

The blond quickly realized what he had done, and removed himself.

“Sorry, I got a bit excited. I should have asked before…”

“It’s fine, we are friends, remember? I will let you know if I’m uncomfortable.”

The Cat boy blinked.

He had almost forgotten. Marinette had promised him back when her dad got akumatized that they would be friends. To be honest, that day was not one of his favorite memories to look back on. He had felt terrible about having to turn Marinette down, and then getting his face pounded repeatedly by her loving father was a bit… excessive. 

“Yeah. I like that.” The Cat hero said with a softer smile. “Consider me your Purrsonal friend and Confidant.”

“You might want to keep the cat puns on hold, Kitty cat. Don’t want people to get suspicious.” She playfully winked.

Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle at the retort. Marinette sure can banter when she wants to! It felt so natural–good chemistry like that is very hard to come by.

“Once again, saving me from potential exposure. You’re quite a competent companion.” he said with a dramatic bow and smile.

Marinette smiled back, before the revelation about a certain baked dessert brought her back.

“Oh, macarons! The cake!”

He watched as she frantically looked around for the cake that she had thrown out of view.

The leather jacket wearing blond looked and saw the box had landed in a bush. He casually strolls over and picks up the box from the greenery.

“Is this what you’re looking for Purrincess?” He let the nickname slip out now that the cat was out of the bag about his identity.

Marinette stops her frantic search and sees that the delivery box was still in one piece. She rushed over to the box and quickly examined for any sort of damage. She felt a wave of relief knowing the cake was perfectly fine.

“Oh, thank goodness! I can keep my word that the cake will be delivered!” The baker’s daughter sighed in relief.

The hero in disguise moved towards her and took the box.

“How about I carry this for you princess? Think of it as a way I can make up for my blunder.”

Marinette considered it for a moment. She _did_ almost get herself killed over something as ridiculous as missing a curb. Having him help out would probably be a _bit_ easier, and less likely to be hit by a car.

“Alright then, Kitty cat, I thank you for your assistance.” Marinette curtsied in a jokingly formal manor causing them both to smile.

The two began to make their way to the Kante residence, while a black cat kwami was doing his best not to burst out laughing from this whole predicament.

* * *

At the Dupain Bakery, Tom finished handing out the last of the orders that were being picked up that afternoon. The large baker took a moment to ease himself. He did love his work, but it did take a lot of energy to manage at times. He looked at the clock.

“Hmm, Marinette should be back by now. The address wasn’t that far away,” Tom commented aloud.

He decided to give her a few minutes before giving her a call to check in on her. In the meantime, he decided to rearrange the display of sweets as one of the macarons fell off the plate.

The bakery entrance opened, causing the baker to look up and see his precious macaron walked in.

“Delivery complete!” Marinette exclaimed with jubilance.

Tom felt a smile grow on his face. 

“That’s my girl!” He stated with pride.

It was that moment that Tom noticed that his little cupcake didn’t enter the bakery alone.

“And who is this young man that you brought with you?”

The two teens began to feel themselves sweat from the question.

“Oh, this is a new friend of mine. He helped me out with delivering the cake. He is Cha… uh” 

Marinette caught herself.

Marinette realized she couldn’t tell her father the boy behind her was Chat Noir. Not only would that expose the cat hero, but it would also bring up that awkward situation back when her dad thought she was in love with the hero. Thankfully, her new friend seemed to think quick.

“Chad. Chad Sombre. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir. I hear your bakery is the best in Paris.” The blond politely introduced himself as he moved to the side of the counter to shake the baker’s hand. Saving Marinette from accidentally spilling the beans.

Mr. Dupain let out a jolly laugh.

“Well,aren’t you polite! Nice to know that manners are still relevant with the kids these days.. You flatter me with your praise. If you want to test that rumor out, feel free to sample of some of our goods.”

Chad smiled at the offer.

“Well, if you insist, I would love to try one of those croissants.”

“A good eye! I just took those out of the oven 10 minutes ago, they are very fresh.”

Chad went into his pocket to pay for it, but the large baker stuck out his hand.

“No need, you helped out my lovely daughter. Consider this delicious baked good as my thank you.”

“You are far too kind, Mr.Dupain.”

The blond took a bite of the buttery croissant and his eyes shot closed from the experience. The delicious labor of baked perfection melted in his mouth and had a subtle sweetness that seemed to make the blond model feel as if he was floating on a flour based cloud in the heavens.

“Incredible! I don’t think I have ever had a croissant this good in my life!”

Tom laughs. “I’m glad to hear it.”

Marinette smiled as she ended up caught up in one of her father’s passionate tales of pursuing the perfect balance in his recipes. She couldn’t help but be amused by how awestruck the cat hero had become. Chad was really enjoying hearing this story that she could probably recite word for word from memory. She found herself wondering what his own family life was like. She did know that he didn’t have a good opinion of certain adults, marinette still remembers that passive remark he made when they were fighting The Bubbler. Was his relationship with her dad not good? Of course, she felt that now was not the time to think about such things. She already found out ‘Chad’ was Chat noir.

She had to admit that Chad Sombre was a clever alias, but also kind of on the nose if people found out who he actually was. However that was something she didn’t plan on sharing with anyone, and who knows? Maybe this will help her to better know that cat partner of hers. That seemed like something that would be nice, she really liked the idea of getting to know this civilian cat.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to support me or check out my work, check out my Tumblr for details


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